Wo Ai Ni
by TheDarkRose22
Summary: Rae is a huge fan of the Firefly series and loves it in every way until one night she ends up living the Firefly experience, finding out so many things about herself along the way. Fan gets popped into fic! Definitely J/OC, some M/I, S/K, W/Z, R/OC. Some adult content in later chapters but not overly descriptive. Not the best summary but if you love Firefly as much as I do, read!
1. Shiny, Just Shiny

I smile and wipe the tears from my eyes as Serenity goes into credits. I always cry when Wash dies, every single time, and it lasts through the rest of the whole movie. I laugh at myself for being twenty-one years old and still crying over a fictional character dying in a science-fiction movie that was made when I was just starting high school. Still, it was _Wash_ that died.

"Curse you and your sudden but inevitable betrayal," I mutter to myself under my breath. I giggle and sit down at my dining room table. The phone rings. I let it go until the third ring before I pick up.

"Hello?" I ask into the phone. My voice is still shaky from crying so much.

"Hello, Raelyn," the voice on the other side of the phone is distinct. There's only one person on this planet who calls me Raelyn, "what's wrong."

"Hi Mom. Nothings wrong." I don't like it when she calls me because she always ends up yelling at me.

"No, I can tell somethings wrong. Don't lie to me Raelyn."

"Fine Mom. If you must know, I just got done watching Serenity and I-" I was cut off by my Mothers nagging voice.

"Raelyn! You need to get out more! All you ever think and talk about is that stupid Firebug show. It-"

"Firefly." I correct her.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter either way. You need to get out more. Make some more friends, meet boys. Who knows, there might even be a boy out there who could stand someone like you." The last sentence hits me like a bucket of nails.

"You need to leave me alone Mom! There is no reason-I am completely happy just-just leave me alone!" I end the call and throw the phone across the room. My head falls to the table and I lay there. I am too angry to cry and too upset to do anything else.

I sit there for what seems like forever until I heard laughter. The laughter grew louder and louder until I could swear it was coming from right in front of me. The laughter dies down and I slowly lift my head up. What I see looks nothing like my dining room

Six people surround me with concerned looks on their faces. I stare at each of them and I feel pretty concerned myself. The room that I am in looks so familiar, almost as if I have been there before. I take another look around. I have been here before! This is the kitchen and dining room for the ship Serenity.

I must be dreaming. There is no way this could be real. I pinch my wrist and I let out an exclamation of pain. _Alright, so I'm not dreaming. Then what is this?_

My eyes hover on each of the faces. This is the crew of Serenity. Kaylee is sitting right next to me with a hand on my shoulder. Inara is sitting to the far left of me with a cup of tea in her hands, looking at me as if I am writhing in pain. Zoe and Wash are sitting right next to each other, both pairs of eyes locked on me. Jayne is sitting diagonal from me but his eyes aren't on me, they're on my hand, which is starting to bleed because I am still pinching it with all my might. That only leaves, wait, where did Mal go? I turn my head to see Mal gazing intently at me, his face not even ten inches from mine.

"What the hell..." I ask to no one in particular. I am not really expecting anyone to answer, either.

"That's exactly what I'm wonderin', li'l sis," Mal says. I can feel his breath on my face, "what the hell is wrong, Rae?" He grabs my hand firmly but softly.

"I-you-we-wait...what?" I am completely confused.

"I think that your sisters finally lost it, Mal," Jayne states. All I can do is stare at Mal.

"Wait, so, Mal?" I need to make sure this is real. _Little sister? Am I Mal's little sister?_

"Yes?" Mal waits for me to ask something.

"So, this is Serenity... and I'm on it? Right now?" I don't feel embarrassed one bit asking these questions. I need to know.

"Yes Rae." Mal sounds intently worried now. "This is Serenity and you are on it, right now." Jayne chuckles. Mal is talking to me like I am a little girl. "Are you feeling okay?"

I come out of my daze and realize that I need to play along or else I could end up in a whole lot of trouble. "Yeah. Yes. Sorry Mal. I guess I just haven't been sleeping right well for these past couple of days. I think I'm gonna hit the hay early tonight." I get up and I start to walk over to the hall where all the bunks are. "Also Mal, I am not a child so you better not treat me like one."

I walk over to the doors and look around for a second. I can hear someone (most likely Inara) laugh lightly and say, "I think she's feeling fine enough, Mal." I find a room with a sign on it that says in big letters:

Rae's Bunk

(Enter at your own risk)

I open the door and climb the ladder in. I close the door and look around. My bunk is filled with cloth draped along the walls that makes it look almost like Inara's room except that I have an extensive range of weapons that line the wall next to my bed and the opposite wall as well. The other difference is that there are some Christmas lights that hang all over my room which provide a shocking amount of light. There are pictures next to my bed that are mostly made up of Mal, Zoe, and I in brown coats with guns slung over our shoulders. _I was in the war?_ There are a few pictures of Kaylee and I sitting on the front of Serenity, Inara and I in some dresses that make us look like we are going to a ball, Wash teaching me how to drive Serenity, Jayne lifting me up of the ground with his arms wrapped around my stomach and me kicking and squirming, and last there was a picture of the whole crew, including myself, standing right in front of Serenity.

I gasp as I pick up the picture of Kaylee and I. Memories flood into my head. Memories that seem to be mine and yet I can be sure that these things never happen to me. I sit down on the bed and relax, picking up each of the pictures, slowly gaining a knowledge of my own past life that I have never lived.

I stop when I pick up the picture of Wash and I. He was sitting on the dash while I had my hands on th steering wheel. This must have been a long time ago considering that he still had his mustache and my hair was cut to just below my chin. Tears well up in my eyes as a memory comes back.

Wash and I were talking, just talking. I look like I have been crying. I can't understand much of what he's saying but I feel him put something in my hand. He closes my hand around the object and walks away. I open my hand to see a necklace with a circular object attached to it. There's a picture of a blue orchid on the front, carved into the wood. On the back there is writing that says;

The strongest person in the universe is the person

who is willing to let the grief of their past take them over

for a few moments and then goes right back to work.

-Hoban "Wash" Washburn

The memory ends and I remember the reasoning behind Wash giving me that necklace. I had lost the first boyfriend I had ever had in the war because he ate one of those horrible apples. I had been crushed by it for so long until that day, only a few days after Mal hired Wash. He is a father figure to me, maybe even closer to me then Mal is.

There's a knocking on my door. I look around and see a mirror. I walk over to the mirror and look at myself. I have my same color of hair, black, but it's longer then it was when I was in the other world. I am a bit thinner but that only makes my whole figure look more attractive. My eyes are lined with eyeliner that makes my dark brown eyes stick out and make all attention draw to my face. The rest of me looks pretty normal, comparing to how I looked before. Before. I wonder what will become of me in the world that I used to know. Will they all forget me? Will they think I was killed? What will happen?

Someone opens my door and comes down. I turn slowly to see Mal walking over to me. He has his usual swag in his step and I can see his gun holstered to his hip. He has a look of seriousness and yet he doesn't seem to be able to hide his worried look.

"You weren't answerin' your door so I just came down," Mal says, looking straight at me and nowhere else.

"Sorry, I'm just out of it right now," I give him a small grin.

"Yeah, I kinda figured. I just came to tell you our plan for the next run."

"Alright, shoot."

"'Kay, I'll 'shoot.' I need you to go behind the enemy lines this time, take 'em out from behind. I think we mighta' bitten of more then we can chew this time without the help of you, ya' crazy little assassin." He punches my shoulder softly and chuckles.

"M'kay," I am contemplating what he just called me. _I am an assassin?_ I chuckle back at him before I see him quickly make a grab for my hand. I pull it away, "what do y'all think your doin', takin' my hand an all?"

"Your bleeding, Rae." He grabs my hand quickly and takes me over to where I have a wash bin. I feel my hand get covered in water and a slight stinging shoots through the back of my hand. I muffle a yelp and Mal finishes washing my hand. He dries it off and then covers it in a washcloth.

"Thanks, Mal."

"Nothin' to it, l'il sis. Just lookin' out fer my kin. Can't have that infected. So, the runs t'morrow night, shiny?"

"Shiny Mal." I smile at him and he climbs out of my room. I turn around after he closes the door and I fall face first onto my bed. I have never killed anyone in my entire life. This is going to be shiny, just shiny.


	2. Authors Note

AUTHORS NOTE:

First of all, the first chapter was based the night before the start of the first episode, Serenity. Normally, there is going to be one chapter for the night before an episode, then a chapter or two for the actual episode, and then another chapter or two for the nights and days following the aftermath of the episode. I messed up while writing this past chapter and I didn't put down when this was taking place. With all of my other chapters, I will put at the beginning of the chapter when and where it's taking place. Also, after the fourteenth episode and aftermath chapters are over, I will take a shot at writing my own episodes and depending on whether I get good responses for it, I might continue or I may not. I will definitely write a story for the movie Serenity. I hope you like it. Lastly, Wo Ai Ni is Chinese (for obvious reasons) for I love you. It will slowly make more sense as I write more chapters. It comes stands for many different types of relationships that are built throughout the series by Rae and other characters. Have fun reading more! I promise I'll write multiple chapters over this next week considering that I'm on break and I have absolutely nothing else to do other than write.


	3. First Day

**TIME: First part of Episode 1- Serenity**

**TRANSLATIONS: Shoe ow- Alright, Okay; Haya who walay- Baboons ass-crack; Me Sue- Crap**

**(These translations are too insane for me to make up)**

I wake up the next morning to find everyone in a semi-controlled chaos. Mal grabs my shoulders and shakes me to wake me up. He has a wide grin that makes the memories that have never been mine flow back. Ladies swoon over him wherever he goes and with just one flash of that smile, he could have any girl he wants and yet, he doesn't take any of them. He laughs almost hysterically and then runs off to the front of the ship. I walk away completely confused and then I bump into Kaylee.

"Didn't ya hear Rae? We found us a new wreak to hit. I gotta get the engines pretty and then Cap'n is fixin ta take a few of us out there to do some scavenging." Kaylee giggles.

"Yep, I ain't gonna be in any part of the outer spaciness that Mal is goin' into. I'll stay on the ship with you guys." I smile back at her.

"Well, how do ya know who's goin'?"

"Just a hunch. Plus, it's who Mal always takes. Jayne an Zoe an that's it. I refuse to go out there."

"Yeah, well, maybe you can help me with Serenity after they head out."

"Sure Kaylee, that'd be nice." I smile at her one last time before she walks away. I start walking towards the front of the ship when I am stopped yet again by someones hand being placed on my back. I turn around to see Jayne. Apparently, considering who Jayne is, I am one of his best friends. We've been close ever since I got on this ship but still, I can get angry at him from time to time.

"Do you need something mister?" I crack a grin and he chuckles.

"Just wonderin' if your fixin to go out to that great hunka metal or not."

"No, I'm definitely not."

"Well, that's all the better. I like it a lot better when you wear your normal clothes." He looks me up and down. I am wearing a tight red t-shirt that's so short that when I move my arms even slightly, the shirt rides up to show off the lower part of my stomach. My pants are skin tight, black jeans that leave little to the imagination. "They fit your figure more."

I punch him lightly and playfully on the chest. "If there is a blunter man in th universe, may I be struck down with lightin' this very minute."

"I'm just speakin' the plain truth, Rae." He chuckles and rubs the spot where I punched him lightly, as if I had actually hurt him.

"That's the point Jayne." I roll my eyes and walk off to the front of the ship. I can hear Jayne walking off in the other direction, most likely to put on his space suit.

I walk to the front to see Mal and Wash talking quickly. Mal looks at me and then smiles again. He walks off without saying another word. He can tell that I am not about to go out into space with the only thing protecting me from death is a piece of glass and some fabric.

"So Rae," Wash says, looking off into the distance, "are you feeling any better after that little episode last night?" I growl and roll my eyes.

"Drop it honey," Zoe says from behind me. She's the only person in the whole universe that can sneak up behind me and every single time without failure, it scares me. Zoe walks over to Wash, kisses him lightly on the cheek, and smiles at me, "I'm goin' out now. Be careful and don't do anything stupid." The last sentience is directed at Wash, not me. Zoe walks back out and I give her a grateful smile.

"I'm guessing that you're not going out into the abyss." Wash chuckles and then turns in his chair to me.

"Nope, too lazy." I smile at him and sit in the chair opposite.

"Perfect excuse, Rae. The assassin is too lazy. That happens every day." He says these words oozing with sarcasm.

"Whatever Wash. You of all people should know how much I hate going out there. It's only when I have to and I don't see any reason why I have to this time 'round."

"Wash, open the bay, we're all ready." Mal's voice rings over the intercom and I see Wash press a few buttons. I sit back and within a few moments, I have fallen into a dreamless sleep. I wake up slowly to the sound of Wash talking.

"Yes, yes, this is a fertile land and we will thrive. We will rule over all this land and we will call it... this land." I open my eyes slightly to see him playing with his dinosaurs and talking to himself.

"I think we should call it your grave!" The other dinosaur says. I bite my cheeks to keep myself from bursting into laughter.

"Ah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" The first dinosaur says. I am almost crying because I am forcing myself not to laugh.

"Rawr! Mine is an evil laugh! Now die!" I burst into laughter and he looks over at me before laughing along with me. I fall out of my chair and onto the floor with laughter. Our laughing is interrupted by a beeping.

"Wash, what the hell is that?" I ask, worried and shaken out of my laughter almost immediately.

He turns and wipes his dinosaurs off of the dash. "Oh, motherless son of a bitch!"

"What!?" I almost scream at him. He looked genuinely worried.

"Captain, we got incoming Alliance cruiser bearing right down on us!" Wash is speaking to Mal so I shut up and listen. _Shit! Alliance cruiser! That's just no damn good._

Mal says something in Chinese that I can't even understand. "Have they spotted us?" I can hear Mal's voice through the speaker.

"I can't tell if-" Wash is cut off by my brother.

"Have they hailed us?" There is a pause as Wash just shakes his head. "Excuse me." Mal is probably speaking to Jayne and Zoe. "Wash, shut it down. Now." Wash is frantically shutting everything down. "Everything but the air."

"Kaylee. Kaylee!" Wash is speaking through the ships main speaker system. "Go to blackout. We're being buzzed."

"Shoe ow. Goin' dark," Kaylee says over the intercom. All the lights shut off and I put my hand on the dash.

"You okay there, Rae," Wash asks and I suspect he's looking at me.

"Never much had a likin' for the dark. Too many things can sneak up on ya while ya can't see," I snarl.

"The lights will be back on soon enough." I sit down next to Wash's chair just loud enough so that he can hear me sit. We just sit and wait. Waiting is not one of my strong points.

"Wash, they slowin' down," Mal asks over the radio.

"That's a neg," Wash says, "doesn't look like they're interested in us. We should be eating wake in a minute or two." I am sitting there when I become scared. Mal is out there and I just have to sit and wait here. I hate that feeling. There's a beeping and I stare up at Wash's face. "Haya who walay! Captain, we're humped!"

"Prep the ship now." I can't tell is Mal is worried or not but I'm fairly sure that he is.

"Kaylee, fire it up." I stand up and look at him. "You're fine Rae, nothing much you can do right now. I don't want you running through the halls when it's this dark."

"Got it Wash," I say in a low voice. I am still standing because it makes me feel better. Wash goes back to pushing buttons and flipping switches to get the ship ready.

"Crybaby cry." I hear Mal state over the radio.

"Make your mother sigh. Engaging the crybaby," Wash responds. I smile. The crybaby is perfect.

"Wash, we're on. Go." Mal sounds urgent over the radio.

"Rodger that." Wash doesn't say anything over the intercom, but instead to himself. I see Serenity take off and I sigh with relief, sitting back down in the other chair. He speaks to me this time. "Hang on travelers." I smile at him as the ship goes off. Wash looks around and then speaks into the intercom. "We look shiny, captain. They are not- repeat- not coming about." I relax and put my hands behind my back. Wash chuckles. "Rae, your tummies showing." I smile at him.

"If you don't stare, since, I should remind you, you are married, then it shouldn't be a problem." I move my hands back down to my lap either way. Wash puts it on autopilot and we both walk out and down to the bay.

As soon as we walk in, I get a gleaming smile from Jayne which immediately tells me that we've done good. Wash and I walk over where Mal and Jayne are squatting and we see a few boxes. They're just about to open them. I stand next to Kaylee and the box is opened.

"Well, there we are," Mal says.

"Wow," I say and I see Mal look up and smile at me.

"They're awfully pretty," Kaylee gasps.

"I'd say worth a little risk," Wash says.

"Yeah, that was some pretty risky sittin' you did there," Jayne states, staring at the bricks.

"That's right. Of course. 'Cause they wouldn't arrest him if we got boarded. He's just the pilot," I defend Wash.

"Right," Wash states, taking the idea that I'm defending him, "I can always say that I was flying the ship by accident. You know, they're pretty-" Wash is cut off by Mal.

"Me sue," Mal states.

"Problem, sir," Zoe asks.

"Couldn't say," Mal says, "but we best be getting' rid of these before we run into another Alliance patrol."

"What the hell are they doin' out this far, anyhow," Jayne asks.

"Shining the light of civilization," Kaylee says. I giggle and walk off with Mal.

"How long till we reach Persephone," Mal asks to Wash.

"Three or four hours," Wash replies.

"Can we shave that," Mal asks.

"We're down to the wire on fuel cells," Wash says. I see Zoe walk up opposite of where I am standing. We look at each other for a moment, eyebrows raised, and then we go back to listening to the conversation. "We run hot, we might not even make it."

"Okay," Mal says, "play it as close as you can. This cash is burning a hole in my hull."

"Think that cruiser might have I.D.'d us," Zoe asks.

"Let's hope not," Mal says. Mal turns to Zoe, "contact Badger. Tell him the job's done." Zoe walks off. "Don't go to mentioning the cruiser, though," Mal adds urgently, "keep it simple."

"Sir, we're sure there's nothing wrong with the ca-" Zoe is cut off by Mal.

"It's fine," Mal says, "just want to get paid." Zoe walks off and Wash follows right behind her. I stay with Mal. He turns around to Kaylee and Jayne. "Alright, let's get these crates stowed. I don't want any tourists stumblin' over 'em." I grab Kaylee's edge and help Jayne instead. I love Kaylee like a sister but I am definitely stronger than her. I stare at Mal. Jayne and I put the crate down and I kneel down to help Mal remove the opening to the nook where we're going to hide the stash.

"We're takin' on passengers at Persephone," Kaylee asks, looking grateful that I decided to help and give her a break.

"That's the notion," Mal says, "could use a little respectability on the way to Boros... not to mention the money."

"Pain in the ass," Jayne says. I can tell he's staring at my ass just because of the pants I'm wearing and the way I'm kneeling.

"No, it's shiny," I smile and get up and turn around, "I like to meet new people. They've all got stories."

"Captain, can you stop her from being cheerful, please," Jayne asks, "it's weird. Rae's not normally even cheerful enough to git up."

"I don't believe there's a power in the 'verse can have me make Rae do anythin' she don't want to. If she wants to be cheerful, not a thing I can do 'bout it. Sometimes you just wanna duct-tape her mouth and dump her in the hold for a month." I smile and give Mal a loving pat on the back and a kiss on the head. Kaylee giggles.

"I love my brother," I smile, "even though he can be a right turd at the best of times." Jayne stares at me and I laugh.

"Yep," Mal sets the crate in the nook and wraps an arm around the back of my neck, pulling me close, "that's us, loving siblings t' the very end." I stick my tong out at him and then I pull away, sitting down on one of the stairs. I zone out for a while. Mal walks off and I follow him after a while. I had to find out what was wrong with him.

I can hear people talking and then Mal's voice interrupting them, "who likes what," Mal asks. I follow up behind him, just out of sight of everyone.

"It's nothing, sir," Zoe states.

"Has the ambassador checked in yet," Mal asks.

"Nah. I think she had a pretty full docket," Wash says.

"Well, after you talk to Badger, let her know we may be leaving Persephone in a hurry," Mal says. That causes my attention to be on full blast.

"Inara has our timetable. She should be checking in," Zoe says.

"I can tell her to cut it short, meet us at the docks," Wash says.

"No, no. Don't want to get in her way if we don't have to," Mal says. Mal I can tell likes, if not loves, Inara. Whatever he says, he still likes her. He starts walking away and I hide in a crevice, "somebody on this boat has to make an honest living." I see Mal walk off and I wait until he's gone before I go into my bunk.


	4. Everything's Gonna be just Alright

**TIME: Right after they dock during Episode 1-Serenity**

**TRANSLATION: Gorram- God Damn**

**(Many of the conversations are taken from the actual series. I just add Rae into them.)  
**

**Disclaimer: However much I would love to own the characters and everything else in this wonderful story, I don't. The only thing I do own is Raelyn.  
**

We just stopped off in the busy, smelly place called Eavesdown Docks. I am standing next to Mal, equipped with enough knives lining my legs to kill a whole dozen men. I am wearing a long, brown coat like Mal to hide all of my knives.

"This shouldn't take too long," Mal says, "put us down for departure in about three hours. Grab any supplies we're low on, fuel her up."

"I can't believe Badger would be somewhere like here," I say to Jayne.

"Yep," Jayne says, "well, it is the best hiding spot anyone could find. Enough people here to hide an entire army right under the Alliances noses." We see Mal nod at us and Jayne and I walk off with Mal, Zoe following swiftly behind us. We don't say anything for a while. I'm just trying to take it all in. For a second, I wish that I could live like this, mingling with everyone, not worrying about what they would say but I shake that thought out of my head quickly.

Mal, Jayne, Zoe, and I walk into a dark, musty old building made mostly out of junk and scraps of metal. As more light comes, I spot a bearded man with a gun pointed straight at us. We walk by as if it's nothing. I am standing right behind Mal. We walk down another hall and we come to a large, shirtless man that looks like he could break any of us (except Jayne) in half with his bear hands. It doesn't help the fact that he has a large gun.. I don't care, though. He would have to catch me first and that is nearly impossible.

I hear Badger in the next room. "Let me see your teeth," Badger says. I have no idea who he's talking to. Mal moves and I can see him. Badger is talking to a young woman with two older looking men next to her. "Yes," Badger says. I don't know exactly what the yeas is for but it most likely can't be good. The woman is shoved out of the room.

"You're late," Badger says, directing his attention to us.

"You're lying," Mal says without hesitation.

"What did you just say to me," Badger asks. My hand twitches. If anything happens, my knives are at the ready.

"You're well aware we landed two hours before we planned to," Mal says, "with all the goods you sent us after intact, ready to roll. So your decision to get tetchy, say we're late, means you're lookin' to put us on the defensive right up front, which means somethin's gone wrong. It didn't go wrong on our end, so why don't we start again with you telling us what's up?"

"You're later than I'd like," Badger states.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Mal says.

"You'd gotten here sooner," Badger says, "you might've beaten the bulletin that came up saying, 'Rogue vessel, classification Firefly, was spotted pulling illegal salvage on a Derelict Transport.'"

"Didn't I.D. us," Mal says calmly, but I can tell he just got a bit more worried, "doesn't lead to you."

"No, it doesn't," Badger says, "but a government stamp on every molecule of the cargo just maybe might." I sigh and I see Zoe's head move down slightly in understanding. Zoe stares at Mal. Mal bowed his head a bit. "Oh," Badger continues on, "you noticed that. You were gonna hand over imprinted goods and just let me twist? Is that the case?"

"We didn't pick the cargo," Mal says, a bit angrier.

"And I didn't flash my ass at the gorram law," Badger states, "there's no deal."

"That ain't fair," I say. Badger stares at me.

"Crime and politics, little girl," Badger says to me, "situation is always... fluid."

"Only fluid I see here is the puddle of piss refusing to pay us our wage," Jayne snarls. Badger stands up angrily and I hear guns at the ready behind us. All of us look around and I look to Jayne, who has his hand on his gun. Mal shoots a glare at him and Jayne give a half-hearted look of apology. Mal turns his head back to Badger and gives him a smile. Badger cocks his head and Mal steps forward.

"It doesn't have to go this way," Mal says, "you know you can still unload those goods, so I can't help thinkin' there's somethin' else at work here.

"What were you in the war," Badger asks. I start to get angry. The war is a touchy subject for Mal, Zoe, and I, "that big war you failed to win. You were a Sergeant, yeah? Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds, balls and bayonets brigade," Badger is walking over to where Zoe and I stand, "big, tough veteran," he turns back around to Mal, "now you got yourself a ship, and you're a captain. Only I think you're still a Sergeant, see, still a soldier. Man of honor in a den of thieves. Well, this is my gorram den. And I don't like the way you look down on me." I smirk inside my head. Badger is shorter than Mal, much shorter, by almost a head, and Mal is staring down at him right now. Badger continues on, "I'm above you, better than. Businessman, see? Roots in the community. You're just a scavenger." I am staring from Mal to Badger. I don't like what I'm seeing.

"Well, maybe I'm not a fancy gentleman like you," Mal says, "With your... very fine hat. But I do business. We're here for business."

"Try one of the border planets," Badger says, "They're a lot more desperate there. Of course, they might kill ya. But you stay here, and I just know the Alliance will track you down. I have that feeling."

Mal starts walking out, "Wheel never stops turning, Badger." I am the last one in line to follow him out.

"That only matters to the people on the rim," Badger call after us. We all walk out. I am absolutely fuming and from what I can tell, so is Jayne, but most likely for different reasons. I am angry because of how Badger brought up the war, right to Mal's face, but Jayne is probably just pissed that we didn't get paid. We walk off to the ship.

"I don't understand why we didn't leave that sum bitch in a pool of his own blood," Jayne says. I roll my eyes.

"We'd be dead," I say, "Can't get paid if you're dead."

"Can't et paid if you crawl away like a bitty, little bug, neither," Jayne says, "I got a share of this job. Ten percent of nothing is- let me do the math here." He moves his fingers around as if he's actually doing math. "Nothin' and then nothin', carry the nothin'."

"So we find a buyer on Boros," Zoe inquires, "there's got to be a-" Mal cuts her off.

"Boros is too big," Mal says, "it's crawling with Alliance. They could just be waiting for us."

"You really think Badger'll sell us out to the Feds," I ask.

"If he hasn't already," Mal says. We stare at two Alliance Feds who are looking at us.

"The Alliance catches us with Government goods," Zoe says, "we'll lose the ship." That scares me. Serenity is a part of me and I will die before we lose the ship.

"That's never gonna happen," Mal says.

"Sir," Zoe states proudly but cautiously, "we could just dump the cargo."

"No ruttin' way. We ain't had a job in weeks," Jayne growls.

"I have to agree with Zoe," I say, "it would be one hell of a lot safer to dump the cargo."

I didn't sign on with this crew to take in the sights. We need coin," Jayne snarls at me.

"Jayne," Mal exclaims angrily, "your mouth is talkin'. You might want to look to that."

"I'm ready to stop talkin' when-" Jayne is cut off by Mal.

"You're right, though," Mal says, "the last two jobs we had were weak tea. We got nothin' saved. Takin' on passengers won't help near enough. We don't get paid for this cargo, we don't have enough money to fuel the ship... let alone keep her in repair. She'll be dead in the water."

"So we do like Badger said, the Border Planets," Zoe asks, trying to steer the conversation away from her starting it.

"I'm thinkin' Whitefall, maybe talk to Patience," Mal says. I'm in shock. Even though it wasn't actually me who had to deal with her last time, I know what happened.

"Mal-Sir," I correct myself, "we don't want to deal with Patience again."

"Why not," Mal asks. I roll my eyes at him.

"She shot you," I say, "and she shot me."

"Well, yeah," Mal says, moving his head slightly, "she did a bit. Still-" I cut him off.

"I'm not lookin' to get shot again. So we find somebody else. Horwitz." I am not looking to lose this fight.

"He can't afford it," Mal says.

"Holden Boys," Zoe says. I guess she doesn't want anymore blood either.

"They wouldn't touch it," Mal chuckles, "you want me to go through the list? Capshaws are brain-blown. Gruviek's dead."

"He's dead," Zoe exclaims.

"Town got hit by Reavers. Burned it right down," Mal says. I shudder. Even the slightest mention of Reavers gives me the chills.

"I ain't goin' anywhere near Reaver territory," Jayne says. I have to agree with him. Going into Reaver territory is a complete last resort, and even then, I don't think that it should be a resort, "Them people ain't human."

"Whitefall is the safest and the closest," Mal states, "It's been a long time since Patience shot you and me, Rae. That was due to a perfectly legitimate conflict of interest. I got no grudge. She owns half that damn moon now. She could afford what we got and she might just need it."

"I still don't think the old lady's the way," Zoe says. I agree with her. Mal might not hold a grudge but I do.

"I'm not sayin' it won't be tricky," Mal says, "but we got no kind of choice. We just gotta keep our heads down, do the job, and pray there ain't no more surprises." we walk onto the ship and I see passengers coming along with Kaylee greeting them. Wash rides in with the supplies and I follow behind the supplies, getting ready to help carry them off.

I look over to the right side of me to see at tall, very clean cut man standing there. He is wearing a full suit that makes me burst into giggles. On top of that whole ridiculous attire, he has a pair of red circular sunglasses on that make him look absolutely ridiculous. I can see Mal staring at him with discomfort. The tall man looks around.

"Please be careful with that," the man says. It's a large crate. Kaylee walks over to the man.

"Mal, this is Simon," Kaylee gestures to the tall man, "Simon, this is our Captain."

"Captain Reynolds," Simon nods politely. _Great, our first real gentleman on board. He'll be eaten alive within two minutes._

"Welcome aboard," Mal says uncomfortably. He walks over to Kaylee, "this all we got?" Kaylee nods and smiles at Simon. She giggles slightly and I walk inside. There's an older man, darker skinned with white hair tied back in a ponytail. He's wearing some sort of a black coat. I don't look at anyone else. This is the one passenger who's really caught my eye.

"So," I say, walking up to the old man and smiling, "I'm Raelyn Reynolds, the captains sister. You can call me Rae, though... that's what everyone calls me." I am rocking on the heels of my boots and waiting for him to talk.

"Tell me, Rae," the man says, "what made you walk over to me first?"

"Oh, ya know," I smile, "you looked like the most interesting person around so I decided I wanted to say hi. Plus, always like meeting the older people- I hope you take no offense- but all the older folks seem to have the best stories."

"Well, I might just have to tell you some of those stories, then," the older man smiles at me and pulls out his hand to shake mine. I take his hand and shake, "I'm Shepard Book." I smile at him and start to say something right as I hear Mal call my name.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I'll hear some of those stories later," I run off over to Mal. I can hear Zoe and Mal talking.

"Now we have a boat full of citizens right on top of our _stolen_ cargo," Zoe says to Mal, "that's a fun mix."

"Ain't no way in the 'verse they could find that compartment," Mal consoles, "even... even if they were looking for it."

"Why not," I ask, joining the conversation. Mal hesitates to think.

"'Cause," Mal says and Zoe and I smile and nod simultaneously.

"Oh, yeah," Zoe says, "this is gonna go great."

"If anyone gets nosy, you know, just...," Mal says, "shoot 'em."

"Shoot 'em," I ask.

"Politely," Mal says and walks up the stairs. I nod and smile. Zoe and I are looking at each other. I turn my head away to laugh and so does she. Zoe walks off and I walk up the steps and sit down on the top step, staring at our passengers. We don't have lots but it's enough to cause trouble, just the way Mal likes it.

A few minutes later I see Zoe come and she says, "We got a full house, captain."

"Kaylee, I'm lockin' it up," Mal says. That must mean Inara's back. I'll give her a few more minutes to get herself all back to normal and then I'll go up and see her. Kaylee turns to the outside and I can tell she says something, but I just don't know what. I can see Simon is up to something, he keeps on looking around nervously. I should really keep an eye on him.

We take off and I stand up to go see Inara. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I turn around. It's Jayne. "What's up," I ask him.

"Nothin' much. What're you up to, though," Jayne asks.

"I'm fixin to go see Inara and talk to her," I say.

"She's probably tired out from all that sexin'," Jayne growls, "give her some time."

"Wow Jayne," I exclaim in fake shock, "are you actually carin' 'bout somethin'?"

"I have my surprises," Jayne says and looks at me in a funny way. I just laugh and sit right back down. Jayne sits down next to me.

"It's funny," I say, "how we have all of these people here. I'm so used to just the normal crew."

"Yep," Jayne knocks his shoulder against mine, "I just can't wait to get 'em all off here. Less dangerous and more privacy to do the thing ya like."

"What, like masturbating?" I smile at him and giggle. For some reason I get butterflies in my stomach.

"Yeah," Jayne smiles, teasing me, "you'd know all about that." I laugh and lean my head against his shoulder. He tenses but I don't care.

"Everything's gonna be alright," I say, "right Jayne?"

"Yep," Jayne says, relaxing a bit, "Everything's gonna be just alright."


	5. The River Breaks Free

**THIS ONE IS LONG! READ IT, THOUGH. THERE'S A LOT WITHIN IT. NO TRANSLATIONS THIS TIME. ALL OF THE CHINESE SAID HAS BEEN SAID BEFORE.**

**SETTING: **Episode 1- Serenity**  
**

* * *

I am sitting at the dining table, looking at each of the passengers. Mal is talking and everyone seems to be listening intently. He's always been able to do that. Every time he talks, it's almost like everyone is just forced to listen.

"Meals are taken up here in the dining area," Mal explains, "kitchen's pretty much self-explanatory. You're welcome to eat what there is any time. What there is is pretty standard fare, I guess, protein in all the colors of the rainbow. We do have sit-down meals, next one being at about eighteen-hundred."

"I think Shepherd Book has offered to help Rae and I prepare something," Kaylee says. I see Shepherd Book smile. I can tell that he is going to be my favorite passenger.

"You're a Shepherd," Mal asks.

"I thought the outfit gave it away," Shepherd Book says, "Is it a problem?"

"Of course not," Kaylee exclaims, "it's not a problem, 'cause it's not."

"No," Mal says, "as I said, you're welcome to visit the dining area any time. Apart from that, I have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we're in the air. The Bridge, Engine Room, Cargo Bay, they're all off limits without an escort."

"Some of my personal effects are in the Cargo Bay," Simon says. I shoot a glance at him. He has a strange look on his face. He seems almost, scared.

"I figure you all got luggage you're gonna need to get into," Mal says, "soon as we're done here, we'll be happy to fetch them with you." I see Wash walk into the dining area. "Now, I have to tell you all one other thing, and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we've been ordered by the Alliance to drop some medical supplies off on Whitefall. It's the fourth moon on Athens. It's a little out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule."

"What medical supplies," Simon asks. This is not good for him or frankly anyone else. He should not be asking about our personal business.

"I honestly didn't ask," Mal says, annoyed.

"Probably Plasma, Insulin, whatever they ain't got enough of on the border moons," Zoe buts in.

"Alliance says jump..." Mal says. I can tell he doesn't like this.

"Alright," Simon says. He isn't good at hiding his worried look.

Mal claps, "Zoe, you wanna take 'em to the Cargo Bay?"

"Yes, sir," Zoe smiles and starts walking.

"Anything else you need," Mal adds, "just ask. We, uh, live to serve." Mal and Wash walk back over to the Bridge. I follow them.

"Did you send word to Patience," Mal asks Wash.

"Ain't heard back yet," Wash says, "Didn't she shoot the both of you one time?" Wash asks both Mal and I.

"Yep," I say, "An' I still ain't takin' a likin' to Mal's idea of seein' her again."

Wash and I walk off and I hear Mal say from behind us in an incredulous voice, "everybody's makin' a fuss." I walk over to the hallway leading to the Cargo Bay. I have to go see what everyone's doing.

Mal is standing at the top of the first staircase and I can see Shepherd Book walking up to him. I can tell that Mal isn't happy with a shepherd being on board. I like the idea, maybe he'll bring some faith on board to this ship. I just hope that Mal doesn't cause a big deal with Shepherd Book being here. Shepherd Book hands Kaylee a box and a bag. That must be his payment. Inara walks out of her shuttle and I see Mal stare at her. She looks beautiful, wearing a long, flowing red dress.

"Ah," Mal says, "the Ambassador graces us with her presence."

"Hello Mal," Inara says, looking at Shepherd Book, "I see we have some new faces."

"Hey, you," Kaylee giggles and smiles at Inara.

"Hey, you," Inara replies. She looks up at me, "hello to you, too, Rae!" I wave at her, laughing and jumping down the stairs. When I reach her, I greet her with a hug.

"Hi to you," I smile, letting go of the hug, "we missed ya."

"I missed you, too," Inara smiles. She turns her attention back to Shepherd Book and Mal.

"Ambassador," Mal introduces, "this is Shepherd Book."

"I'd have to say," Inara greets Shepherd Book, "this is the first time we've had a Preacher on board."

"Well," Shepherd Book says, "I wasn't expecting to see a state official either. Ambassador." They shake hands. Mal laughs and Inara looks annoyed. If Mal is mean about this, I'm going to punch him right in the jaw. Preacher looks confused, "I'm missing something funny."

"Not _so_ funny," I snarl and glare at Mal.

"'Ambassador' is Mal's way of-" Mal cuts her off.

"She's a whore, Shepherd," Mal states bluntly. Preacher looks shocked and I am fighting off the urge to push Mal off the stairs.

"The term is 'Companion'," Kaylee says, trying to make is better.

"I always get those mixed up," Mal says. I am fuming. If he says another word, I swear, everyone will see steam pouring out of my ears. Mal continues on, "how's business?"

"None of yours," Inara says as calmly as possible.

Mal turns to Preacher after getting slightly annoyed with Inara's comeback, "She is pretty much our Ambassador. There's plenty of planets wouldn't even let you dock without a decent companion on board." Preacher looks uncomfortable and I can see the gears in Mal's head turning, "This- This isn't a problem for you, is it, Shepherd?"

"Well..." Shepherd stammers, "I...I certainly-" Inara cuts him off kindly.

"It's all right," Inara says. I can tell she's hurt but after all these years of Mal being mean to her, she's learned to hide it, "I mostly keep to myself... when I'm not whoring." Inara turns to walk away.

"Don't you wanna meet the rest of the bunch," Mal asks rudely.

"Why don't you make sure they want to meet me first," Inara shoots back. I look from Inara and Kaylee walking off to Mal. These are the times when I absolutely despise Mal. I glare at him and our eyes meet for a split second. I punch his arm as hard as I possibly can and then I stomp off after Inara and Kaylee. I hear him call out "ow!" I can hear Kaylee and Inara talking as I catch up with them.

"So," Kaylee inquires, "how many fell madly in love with you and wanted to take you away from all this?"

"Just the one," Inara laughs lightly, "I think I'm slipping."

"Well," I say, "I don't know about you but I think your doing just fine. I've been on this boat for just as long as Zoe and Mal and I ain't gotten one guy to fall for me."

"That's not true," Kaylee says.

"What do you mean," I ask.

"You got Jayne starin' at ya almost twenty-four/seven," Kaylee giggle and then sighs, "now me on the other hand, I-" I cut her off.

"What do ya mean, I got Jayne," I ask. The butterflies in my stomach return.

"Rae, you can't be serious," Inara laughs, "I am off this ship a lot more often then you and even I've noticed it."

"Well," I try to figure out what to say. I look around for an excuse to get away from this conversation, "Kaylee, c'mon. We gotta start whippin' up some grub."

"Got it," Kaylee says, "sorry Inara. We'll talk to you later." Kaylee and I walk off, Kaylee carrying the box filled up with payments and I'm left to contemplate what we had just talked about. _Jayne? Really? I only thought that we were friends. That's what we had to be. That's the only way he seemed to think. Still, what if they were right? What then?_ I am shaken out of my thought process as Kaylee and I walk into the kitchen. Kaylee opens up a box and pulls out a strawberry. I stare. She looks at me and I smile.

"Kaylee," I say, "if I know anything it's that you have an obsession with strawberries. I ain't gonna ask for it. No chance. You go ahead, have it." She nods at me and then turns back to the strawberry. She smells it and then takes a bite. I can see her savoring every last bit of it. I laugh a bit and then sit down on the edge of the table. Then we start to make dinner.

Everyone is gathered around the table. Zoe is getting up to get some food and I am sitting in between Jayne and Preacher. The table is loaded with so much food. Kaylee and I exchange light smiles. It took a lot of work to prepare all this but it's worth it. I can hear the light chatter of how good the food is or how starving people are. I can hear Jayne complaining about how there's not enough food and how it won't last long. I roll my eyes, scoff, and then get right back to eating or listening to Preacher talk about different things.

"They're not the same when they're frozen," I hear Preacher say to Simon. He's talking about the tomatoes. He was kind enough to bring them from the Abbey garden, "the important thing is the spices. A man can live on packaged food from here till Judgment Day if he's got enough rosemary." I laugh into my food. I know exactly what he's talking about. I can almost feel Jayne staring at me. I turn around.

"Yes, Jayne," I smile at him. I am actually quite curious to see what he says.

"What're you laughing about," Jayne asks. He actually is curious.

I think for a second on how to explain it to him and then decide to not even try, "it's nothin'. Just a cookin' joke."

"Oh, right," Jayne smiles slightly and then goes back to eating. I turn back around to listen to Preacher again.

"Captain," Preacher asks, "do you mind if I say Grace?" My mouth opens in shock partially. Mal won't like this. I just hope he's not too rude about it.

"Only if you say it out loud," Mal says. My eyes close in annoyance. Of course Mal decides to be rude. I look at Preacher. He looks a bit shocked by Mal's answer. It gets quite all of a sudden and I see Preacher close his eyes and clasp his hands together. I am not religious, but Preacher seems so nice, I decide to say do it with him. I can see Jayne and Kaylee close their eyes and do the same things as Preacher. I do so as well. My eyes shut and hands clasped I wait for a few seconds.

"So," Simon asks, breaking the silence. I intake sharply and glare at him. Simon goes on, "does it happen a lot? Government commandeering your ship, telling you where to go?"

"That's what Governments are for, get in a man's way," Mal says. I can tell he doesn't like Simon but right now, I don't care what Mal thinks. I am still angry at him for being mean to Inara and Preacher. Sometimes it's hard to imagine me being related to such a heartless person.

"Well," Dobson says. It's the first time I've ever even heard him speak. He's the only other passenger and not a seemingly smart one at that. He's a bit older then Mal and he's not attractive in the slightest, "it's good if the supplies are needed."

"We're just happy to be doin' good works," Jayne says with a full mouth. He smiles at me and then goes back to eating. I am listening too intently to the conversation to return the smile.

"I hear a lot of the border moons are in bad shape," Dobson says, "plagues and famine."

"Well," Zoe says, sitting in between Mal and Dobson, "some of that's exaggerated, and some of it ain't. All those moon, just like the central planets, they're as close to Earth-that-was as we can make 'em. Gravity, atmosphere and such, but-" Mal cuts her off.

"Once they're terraformed," Mal says, "they'll dump settlers on there with nothin' but blankets, hatchets, maybe a herd. Some of 'em make it. Some of 'em..."

"Then I guess it's good we're helping," Simon says. Apparently, Simon's been listening to this conversation just as much as I have. Mal looks up at him and then back down to his food.

"You're a doctor, right," Kaylee asks. I didn't know he is a doctor.

"Oh, uh..." Simon stutters. He wipes his lips with a napkin and continues, "yes, I was a trauma surgeon on Osiris, the Capital City."

"Long way from here," Mal says. That's exactly what I am thinking.

"You seem so young to be a doctor," Kaylee smiles. I can tell she's doing her best to flirt with him. I can't blame her, either. He is pretty good looking and he seems just about her age.

Simon looks around awkwardly and then smiles at her slightly, "yeah. You're pretty young to be a ship's mechanic." I turn slightly to look at Mal to see his reaction to this small talk but my attention focuses on Jayne. I can tell he's just dying to say something stupid just to embarrass the both of them.

"Don't know how," Kaylee giggles. She is just loving the attention she's getting from this young, attractive man. She looks at me quickly and I give her a quick little wink. She gets braver and starts talking again, "machines just got workin's, and they talk to me."

"That's a rare gift," Preacher says. I smile. Kaylee is one little gift to the world.

"Well," Kaylee smiles, "not like bein' a doctor. Helping fix people, that's important."

"Little Kaylee here just wishes you was a Gynecologist," Jayne chuckles. Simon looks embarrassed, but not even close to as much as Kaylee. Poor Kaylee looks horror-struck. I snarl, turn to Jayne, and then I punch his chest.

"Ow," Jayne exclaims, "Gorram it! Whacha go doin' that for!?"

"Jayne," Mal looks actually angry. Mal loves Kaylee like she's his daughter. I'm glad Mal cuts me off or else I would have said something that should never be said at dinner tables, "you will keep a civil tongue in that mouth, or I will sew it shut. Is there an understanding between us?"

"You don't pay me to talk pretty," Jayne growls. His hand is rubbing his chest. I made sure I punched him hard, "just because Kaylee gets lubed up over some big-city dandy-"

"Walk away from this table right now," Mal says. This isn't a challenge, it's an order. Jayne looks shocked. After a few seconds, Jayne gets up, slams another spoonful of mashed potatoes and then grabs his plate and cup and storms off. I close my eyes, put my arms up on the table and I lay my head in my hands.

"What do you pay him for," Simon asks, breaking the awkward silence. I look up slightly from my hands and I stare at Mal. I am wondering what Mal is going to say and I think everyone else is wondering, too.

"What," Mal asks. He is shocked by this question.

"I was just wondering what his job is... on the ship," Simon questions. My head is raised completely off my hands now and I am staring from Simon to Mal and back to Simon again.

"Public relations," Mal says. I bite my cheek to stop myself from laughing. I push myself out of my spot and I put my plate in the sink, washing it and then putting it away again. I turn around to see Simon and the rest of the crews incredulous faces. I chuckle and then walk off. I go into my bunk and change into a pair of shorts and a tank-top. I lay down on my bed. I quickly fall into a dreamless sleep.

I am rudely awakened by the sounds of people shouting. I jump out of bed and immediately climb up the ladder. I sprint down the halls. The shouting is coming from the Cargo Bay. I hear a gunshot and someone shouts "Kaylee!" I sprint faster then I ever have before and I am literally jumping down whole flights of stairs to get to the people. I see people scattered everywhere. Everyone seems in shock.

I jump off the last flight of stairs and I land on Dobson's back. He falls to the floor and I hear his head slam to the ground. I steady myself and then I grab his arms and pull them behind him. I slam my foot between his shoulder blades and I pull up on his arms. He cries out and I look over to Kaylee. A sound comes out of my mouth that sounds nothing like I've ever heard myself do before. It's a scream. My scream is only loud enough for myself to hear it and Preacher, who is pulling the gun out of Dobson's hands. I am shaking with anger and fear. I promised Kaylee that I would never let anything happen to her and now she's shot. I would have gladly taken that shot for her anytime. My head is spinning and nothing makes any sense. My little Kaylee can't be shot, she just can't be.

Preacher and Jayne are arguing. Simon, Mal, and Inara are gathered around Kaylee. I look to the man laying there underneath me, unconscious. The one person who hurt Kaylee. I let go of Dobson's hands and I walk in between Preacher and Jayne. I walk straight to Kaylee and I stand there. I am speechless. Zoe says something and I think she cocks a gun but none of it matters. I kneel down next to Mal. I am holding Kaylee's head and tears are welling up in my eyes. I blink back my tears but one of them falls right onto Kaylee's cheek. Mal glances at me and then looks right back at Kaylee. I wipe the tear off her cheek.

"Captain," I can hear Wash's voice over the intercom, "we've been hailed by a cruiser, ordered to stay on course and dock for prisoner transfer." Mal looks at Simon and Simon looks worried. We all seem to be worried and confused. Simon stands up.

"Change course," Simon says. He sounds scared, "run."

"Hell with you," Mal snarls, "you brought this down on us. I'm dumping you with the law."

"Mal," Inara warns.

"She's dying," Simon says.

"You're not gonna let her," Mal says. Mal is almost shaking with fury.

"Yes, I am," Simon says. I gasp and for the first time, I fully look up from Kaylee.

"N-no, y-you cant," I shout. Mal stands up angrily.

"No way the Feds'll let us walk," Zoe states.

"Then we dump him in a shuttle and leave him for them," Mal says. He is not going to do this, not while I'm breathing.

"Everybody's so mad," Kaylee says in shock. I am standing up now.

"It's okay, baby," Inara cries.

"Do you know what a stomach wound does to a person," Simon asks. He won't let her die but if Mal gives him up to the Feds, she will die.

"I surely do," Mal says.

"Then you know how crucial the next few minutes are," Simon says.

"You let her die, you'll never make it to the Feds," Zoe snarls.

"She'll still be dead," Simon says. I am getting mad. This arguing isn't getting us anywhere.

"You rich kids," Mal growls. _So this is what this is about. This is why Mal hates Simon._ I knew there was something there but I haven't been sure what until now. We were never rich as children and we despised all the rich people around us. They always seemed to not care about anything, "you think your lives are the only thing that matters. What'd you do, kill your folks for the family fortune?"

"I don't kill people," Simon shouts.

"The do your job," Mal shouts back.

"Turn the ship around," Simon shouts.

"Enough," I scream, "Mal, just do it! If he can fix her, let him fix her! Let him help her! We'll figure out what to do next after Kaylee's safe!"

Mal glares at me. I glare right back. I can tell he wants to say something considering that he hates to be told what to do on his own ship. I am just about ready to scream. Kaylee cries and I kneel back down, grabbing her hand. There is a moment of silence before I here Mal.

"Zoe, change course," Mal says. I let out a breath of relief.

"Help me get her up," Simon rushes. He kneels down and has Mal help him pick Kaylee up.

"Wash, change course and go for hard burn," Zoe says into the intercom, "we're runnin'." I walk into the infirmary right behind Simon, Mal, and Kaylee. Inara turns on the lights. I was never good at stuff like this. I can kill, easy, but saving people lives, not so easy. I prepare myself to help in whatever way I can. Mal moves the light over Kaylee's fragile little body.

"You have an extractor," Simon asks.

"Got a laser saw," Mal says, looking over Kaylee.

"No, that's not good enough," Simon says. He turns to me, "uh, my room, red bag." I sprint to the room. I can't even tell what I am doing. I just run as fast as I can. I see a red bag in Simon's room and I grab the whole thing. I sprint as fast as I can back. I hand Simon the red bag.

"There's nothing else you can do for right now," Simon says to me, "thank you, though." I sit down and curl up on the counter in the far back of the room. I am not going to leave. I care too much about Kaylee to leave her right now. Simon focuses as he pulls out the bullet. I see the bullet drop to the table and I let out a sigh. I see Mal do the same. Tears well up in my eyes and I look through the window closest to me. Jayne is staring at the operation. I catch his eye and he looks at me. He actually seems worried. He gestures for me to come over to him so I walk out of the infirmary and over to him.

"How's she doin'," Jayne asks.

"I can't rightly tell," I say, sitting down next to Jayne. I am trying to blink away the tears in my eyes but they start to fall, "all I know is that Simon got the bullet out of her."

"Do you really trust-," Jayne starts and then looks at me crying, "hey. It's gonna be okay, Rae. I told you that it would be and I swear that it will be."

"I know," I swallow back a sob, "I just-I-I wish I coulda been there to stop it."

"Doesn't everyone," Jayne says. He puts an arm softly on my shoulder, "it's gonna be okay, Rae." I wipe away the tears and I look at him. For the first time ever, Jayne has a look of actual concern on his face. I nod and wipe away my tears. I lean back and Jayne and I don't say anything at all. The comfort of someone else being next to us is enough to keep us calm.

After about a half an hour, they seem to finish up. Mal says something and walks out, right past us. Simon follows after him and starts shouting. Jayne and I both get up simultaneously and I see Jayne rush after them. Jayne puts an arm around Simon's neck to keep him back and I follow Mal. I can tell where he's going. He's going to do something I've been wanting to do for a while, open the case.

"Where's the Fed," Mal asks.

"Secured," Jayne says. I look back at him and he nods, "the Shepherd's with 'm. He seems to think he's not safe alone with me... or with you, Rae."

"He has a right to think that," I say, "I have a right well urgin' to split the damned Feds head straight open." Mal pulls out the crate and undoes the latches. Air hisses out and some fog flows out.

"No," Simon shouts. No one pays attention to him. We're all just wanting to see what exactly is in the crate. I see Zoe and Wash come over to see this.

"Well," Mal snarls, "let's see what a man like you would kill for." Mal kicks off the cover for the crate. I hear Simon shout but I am in shock. The fog has cleared and what I see is a naked girls body, curled up inside of the crate. Mal and I are standing there in shock. We have no words to say.

Mal looks from the body to Simon and then back to the body and exclaims, "huh." Simon starts to go forward and Jayne grabs him.

"I need to check her vitals," Simon says.

"Oh, is that what they call it," Mal asks. He seems angry. I am still standing there in shock.

"She's not supposed to wake up for another week," Simon shouts, "the shock-" Mal cuts him off. I don't know what to say.

"The shock of what," Mal asks, "waking up? Finding out she's been sold to some border-world baron? Or, I'm sorry. Was this one for you? Is it true love? Because you do seem a little-" The girls screams. Mal jumps back and I utter a stream of swear words and I jump back. The girl is gasping and she seems scared out of her mind. The girl crawls out of the crate, still gasping. She hides from nothing and leans against the crate. I want to go to her but I'm in too much shock. Simon runs to her.

"River," Simon says. He puts his hands on her, "hey. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. I'm here."

The girl, who apparently in named River, stops shivering and looks at him, "Simon?" she barely uttered it. She gets louder as she speaks again, "Simon, they- they talk to me. They want me to' they want me to talk."

"They're gone," Simon says, "they're gone. They're gone. They're gone. We're safe now. We're safe. We're safe. I'm here. Come here." He embraces her. River is crying. Everyone seems shocked.

"What the hell is this," Mal asks.

"This is my sister," Simon says.


	6. Death Believed

**No Translation**

**Setting- Episode 1:Serenity**

* * *

We were all sitting in the dining area, waiting for Simon's explanation. Simon had taken River to see Kaylee. She sat there for a while before falling asleep.

"I am very smart," Simon says. I stare. I am still in shock and everyone else seems to be. Jayne is sitting next to me and Mal is sitting across from me. Simon continues on, "I went to the best Medacad on Osiris... top three percent of my class. Finished my internship in eight months. Gifted is the term. So when I tell you that my little sister-" Mal glances over at me and I shoot him a small smile. He winks at me. Any mention of little sisters and he looks at me. He's proud of me, and I'm proud of him, no matter how much I get mad at him. "makes me look like an idiot child... I want you to understand my full meaning. River was more than gifted. She... she was a gift. And everything she did... you know, music, math, theoretical physics, even... even dance... there was nothing that didn't come as naturally to her as breathing does to us. And she could be a real brat about it, too." Mal winks at me. I roll my eyes. "I mean, she used to..." Jayne gets up, drinks the rest of whatever he is drinking, and makes another cup. I know what he thinks. He's just a jealous older brother, but that's not how it works. He's reliving the old, glory days. "There was a- a school, a, uh... a government-sponsored academy. We had never even heard of it, but it had the most exciting program... the most challenging. We could have sent her anywhere. We had the money. But she wanted to go. She wanted to learn. She was fourteen. I, uh... I got a few letters at first, and then I didn't hear for months. Finally, I got a letter that made no sense. She- she talked about things that never happened, jokes that- that we never... it was a code. It just said... 'They're hurting us. Get me out.'"

"How'd you do it," Zoe asks.

"Money," Simon states, "and- and luck. For two years, I couldn't get near her. Then I was contacted by some men, some underground movement. They- they said that she was in danger, that- that the government was... playing with her brain." My eyebrows creased together and I unfolded my arms, leaning forward in my chair. "If I funded them, they could sneak her out in Cryo, get her to Persephone, and from there, I could take her... wherever."

"Will she be alright," Inara asks.

"I don't know," Simon replies, "if she'll be alright. I don't know what they did to her, or why. I- I just have to keep her safe." Everyone is silent for a moment.

"That's quite a story, son," Preacher says.

"Yeah," Mal says. He seems shaken but he gets rid of the shakiness in a second, "it's a tale of woe. Very stirring. But in the meantime, you've heaped a world of trouble on me and mine."

"I never thought-" Simon gets cut off by Mal.

"No," Mal says, "I don't imagine you thought... in consequence of which we got a kidnapped federal officer on board, we got the Alliance hard on our trail, and Kaylee-" He almost sounds like he holds back a sob.

"How much does the Alliance know," Zoe asks.

"I can't say," Wash states, "I killed the message pretty quick, so they may just have had our position."

"Or they might have personal profiles on each and every one of us," Mal says, "'till that Fed wakes up we won't know."

"So what do we do," Jayne asks. There is a hesitation.

"The job," Mal says, "we finish the job. I got word from Patience. She's waitin' for us. We circle 'round to Whitefall, make the deal, get out, keep flyin'."

"What about us," Simon asks. Mal turns around. He is angry.

"Kaylee comes through," Mal says, "you and your sister get off at Whitefall."

"If she doesn't come through," Simon asks. I already know the answer.

"Well then you're getting' off a mite sooner," Mal snarls. I see Jayne smirk. He looks at me and I roll my eyes. He gives an innocent shrug.

"That'd be murder," Preacher says.

"Boy made a decision," Mal says.

"He didn't shoot her," Inara says in a voice that sounds so unlike her. She doesn't seem calm anymore.

"Nah," Jayne says, "but somebody else on this boat did, and I'm scratchin' my head as to why we ain't dealt with him."

"Kill a Fed," Zoe exclaims, "can you think of a stupider thing to do?"

"He can I.D. us all," Jayne says.

"You want to throw me out the air lock," Simon shouts, "fine, but River is not a part of this."

"Can we maybe vote on the whole murdering-people issue," Wash asks.

"We don't vote on my ship," Mal snarls, "because my ship is not the ruttin' town hall."

"This is insanity, Mal," Inara shouts. I have officially decided to stay out of this conversation. I don't need to get dragged into this as well.

"I happen to think we're a ways beyond that now, sir," Wash says. After that there is a mixture of voices and I can't understand what anyone is saying. I am getting angry now to the point where my head is starting to hurt.

"Shut up," I scream. I am standing up, "just let Mal ruttin' talk and let's hear out what he has to say!" Everyone stares at me. I sit back down and grab Jayne's drink from him, sipping a bit before handing it back to him. Everyone is quiet.

Mal nods at me and I nod right back. "The way it is is the way it is," Mal announces, "we got to deal with what's in front of us."

"Mal," Inara says, "you know those two wouldn't survive a day in Whitefall anyway. You throw them out, I'm leaving, too." Mal stares at her and then hesitates before saying anything.

"It might be best you do," Mal says. I start to get up in protest but Jayne grabs my hand and pulls me back down, "you ain't a part of this business." Mal walks off and so does Inara. I sit there and so does everyone else. Simon follows Mal out and asks him, "what business is that, exactly? I'm a dead man. I can't know? Is it gold? Drugs? Pirate treasure? What is it that makes you so afraid of the Alliance?"

"You don't wanna go down this road with me, boy," I hear Mal reply.

"Oh, you're not afraid of them," Simon asks, almost challenging Mal, "I already know you'd sell me out to them for a pat on the head. Hell, you should probably be working for them." Bad mistake. Everyone who's moving in the room freezes. That was not a smart thing to say. "You certainly fit the profi-" Simon is cut off by Mal punching his face. I smirk and I see Jayne do the same.

"Saw that comin'," Jayne says and he walks off. I can see Mal is pissed but I don't say anything. I walk over to the sitting area and curl up on the couch. Mal calls to me and Jayne. I get up and walk over to him.

"I'm gonna go interrogate the Fed," Mal says to the both of us, "and seein' as how you both want to rip his head off of his body, I think you should both come with me, just in case he tries anythin' funny like." Jayne and I both smile at each other and we follow Mal into the room with Dobson. I sit down on the counter across from the Fed and Jayne stands next to me. Dobson is awake so Mal walks straight over to him and tears off the duct-tape from his mouth.

"I'm in a tricky position," Mal says, "I guess you know. Got me a boatload of terribly strange folk makin' my life a little more interesting than I generally like. Chief among them, an Alliance mole who likes to shoot at girls when he's nervous." Mal looks at me quickly as if he's worried that I'm going to get shot at that very moment. "Now I gotta know how close the Alliance is, exactly how much you told them before Wash scrambled your call. So... I've given Jayne here the job of findin' out."

"He was nonspecific as to how," Jayne says. I smirk as I see the knife and the fear in Dobson's eyes.

I hear Mal whisper to Jayne, "now, you're only gonna scare him." Mal starts walking out.

"Pain is scary," Jayne says. I laugh and stand up. I'm contemplating if I should do something or not.

"Just do it right," Mal says. I smile at Jayne and he gives me a smile back. I decide not to kiss him on the cheek. Instead, I punch him lovingly on the arm.

"Have fun," I whisper and I see him smirk.

"I will," he whispers back to me. I walk out with Mal and I close the door.

I turn to Mal but before I can say anything he says something, "Rae, I didn't let you do it 'cause I don't want you getting hurt. What Simon said earlier, however much I hate him, he was right. It's a big brothers job to protect their little sis and I will protect you no matter what. I just want to make sure that you know that." I refuse to say anything. I just hug him and then I nod. We exchange smiles and we walk off. Later on Mal gets called over to the Bridge. I follow soon after.

I can hear Mal and wash talking. "I'm picking up a lot of radiation," Wash says, "they're operating without core containment. That's- that's suicide." My worst fears are being hatched. Reavers. I can see the idea dawn on Mal as well. I walk in but no one notices. Mal walks over to the window.

"Reavers," Mal says. I gasp. Mal quickly moves his head my way and I walk over to him. His arm wraps around me, as if that will make me feel safer.

"Oh, God," I whisper. Mal pull me tighter. The ship is coming closer and closer to Serenity, "Oh, God. Oh, God." I see Mal walk over to the intercom and transmit his voice all over the ship.

"This is the captain," Mal says. He looks over at me but my eyes keep on flashing from him to the Reaver ship, "we're passing another ship. Looks to be Reavers. From the size, probably a raiding party. It could be they're headed somewhere particular. Could be they already hit someone and they're full up. So everyone stay calm. We try to run, they'll have to chase us. It's their way." At this point I have gone down to my bunk and I am grabbing every weapon that will fit on me. I can hear Mal continue on. "We're holding course. We should be passing them in a minute. So we'll see what they do. Zoe, you come on up to the bridge." Mal ends the transmission and at that point, my body is almost fully covered in weaponry. I climb out of my bunk and I go to Jayne's. He'll be in there. I know it.

I hear Jayne's gruff voice say "c'mon in." I take a deep breath and I climb down. I move away from the ladder and I can see Jayne is just as prepared as I am for this. I close my eyes quickly and then shutter. There is an awkward silence.

"So," Jayne says, trying to break the silence, "Reavers."

"Yeah," I say. It's barely audible, "Jayne, I-"

"Rae," Jayne cuts me off, "if they do board us, I will put myself in front of you 'till I am taken down. I couldn't stand to see you get hurt like that right in front of me."

"Not a chance, Jayne," I say and I take a step closer to him, "if they board us, we're goin' down together. I ain't gonna have it any other way." He smiles at me and then looks at my weaponry.

"I guess what Wash says 'bout you and Zoe is true," Jayne does a half-hearted smirk, "you both are some warrior women." I smile at him and step closer. We are very close now, not even five inches separating our faces.

"Jayne," I sigh, "I am going to admit somethin' to you that I ain't admitted to anyone in a long time." He stares at me. "I am truly scared." I feel his arms enclose around me and his chin rest on the top of my head. I feel safe in his arms, like nothing else can come near me.

"I am, too," Jayne says. I pull back and stare at him. Jayne Cobb admitting to being scared. That is something new. We share a glance before I step forward quickly and plant a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm goin' to the Bridge," I say, climbing up the ladder, "bye."

"Bye," I see Jayne rubbing the spot where I kissed him with a dazed look on his face. I climb out of his bunk and I walk over to the Bridge. I am not going to miss anything. The Bridge is silent as Zoe comes up.

"There's their magnetic grappler," Wash says, scaring me by breaking the silence, "they get ahold of us with that-" Mal cuts him off.

"Just tell me if they alter course," Mal says. I am standing in between Mal and Zoe. Mal puts an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. We are all silent as we watch the ship pass. We are flying right under their ship. I am staring up at the gigantic ship that we are so scared of. Everyone else is staring at it, too. There's a soft beeping and we immediately look at Wash.

"They're holding course," Wash says. We all sigh.

"I guess they weren't hungry," Mal says. My eyes close and I lean against Mal to steady myself.

"Didn't expect to see them here," Wash says.

"They're pushing out further every year, too," Zoe says.

"We're gonna start seein' that ugly sight more an' more often now, too," I sigh.

"Gettin' awful crowded in my sky," Mal says. I walk off to go into Jayne's bunk. I see Mal walk by. He gives me a questioning look and I roll my eyes.

"I'm going to go tell him that they're stayin' on course," I scoff, "I just need to talk to someone."

"Well why can't you talk to Zoe and Wash," Mal asks.

"They'll probably be makin' out, considerin'," I laugh.

"You just gotta talk to Jayne, ain't ya," Mal asks, partially scoffing.

"We've been friends for a while," I say, "I feel like I can-"

"I'm just expectin' y'all to become more then friends soon enough," Mal says.

"Mhm," I roll my eyes, "what gives you that notion."

"See Rae," Mal says, "you talk to Jayne 'bout things you wanna talk 'bout, an' I talk to Jayne 'bout things I wanna talk 'bout."

"What do ya-" I try to ask him but he walks off. I have a feeling like everyone knows something that I don't. I climb down the ladder and I smile at him. He's sitting on his bed with a double barreled shotgun in his hand. I sit down next to him.

"They're holdin' course," I sigh. I hear him relax and he lowers the shotgun down onto his bed on the other side of him.

"Thank God," Jayne smiles and then wraps an arm around my shoulder but in a different way then how Mal does it. This way is less family-like. Jayne smirks, "now, 'bout that kiss."

"It was a kiss on the cheek for heavens sakes," I growl. I stand up and start pacing the floor, "why does everyone seem to make a big deal when I even come near you!? First Kaylee, then Inara, then Mal! Now you? Christ, can't I give you a kiss on the cheek without everyone bothering me!?" Jayne stands up and stares straight down at me.

"I'm sorry, alright," Jayne snarls, "I'm just happy to be alive. It's not my problem if the whole ship seems to be against you but don't take out all your anger on me. I was just wondering why you did that- that whole kiss thing."

"I did it be-because-" I don't really know, "because I needed to. And I'm sorry about getting mad. I'm just stressed out. What with the Reavers, Simon, River, that damn Fed, Kaylee-" I choke on a sob when I say her name. "I just want Kaylee to be better." I lean against his chest and he sits down with me sitting on his knees. I feel him kiss my head and he whispers into my ear.

"She'll get better, I promise." I look at him and his face is right there. He isn't saying anything and I don't want to say anything. Something in my gut urges me to kiss him. I lean in to kiss him. I can tell he's leaning in, too. My eyes flutter shut. I can feel his breath right next to my lips. I shutter as I wrap my arm around his neck and his arms wrap around my waist.

"Rae," I can hear Zoe call, "Rae! C'mon up here!" I let out a frustrated sigh as I move off his knees. His eyes open and stare straight at me. I don't meet his eyes. I climb up the ladder and I face Zoe. She gives me a wondering stare.

"I was just tellin' Jayne 'bout the Reavers," I smile, "so, what did you need me for."

"Wash wanted to talk to you," Zoe smiles at me.

"Gosh," I hear Jayne coming up the ladder, "glad that those Reavers missed us." He moves around Zoe and I and he walks up and over to the Bridge. Zoe gives me a smile as if she knows something and we walk off to the Bridge behind Jayne. Jayne sits down in the opposite seat and I sit on the dash next to Wash. Zoe is standing in the doorway.

"What's up," I ask Wash.

"Did you see that ship," Wash asks me.

"If you're talkin' 'bout the Reaver ship," I giggle, "yes, I did. I'm pretty sure anyone who was in the Bridge did."

"No, I mean," Wash is smiling at me while trying to explain his question, "the magnetic grappling on it."

"Yes," I exclaim, "it was huge!"

"I know," Wash shouts back. Wash is about to say something else when Mal comes in chuckling.

"What's so funny," I ask.

"I just- I just told Simon... Kaylee's fine, she woke up just earlier..." Mal is laughing as he tries to explain. "I told the doc that she's dead, and that he's gonna get thrown off the ship!" We all burst into laughter. I am almost falling over in laughter as I think about Simon just running through the halls, thinking that he's going to get thrown off. I sit down on the ground as I am laughing because I have no strength to stand up.

"You are psychotic," Wash says as he laughs.

"No," Mal laughs, "you should've seen his face. Oh." Mal wipes a tear away from his eye. "I'm a bad man." My laughter slowly dies down and I stand up.

"And Kaylee's really okay," I ask.

"Yeah. Tell the truth, I didn't expect her to heal this quick," Mal says, "Doctor knows his trade, I'll give him that." We are interrupted by a beeping.


	7. One More Great Day

**No Translations**

**Setting- End of Episode 1: Serenity  
**

* * *

"Being hailed," Wash says.

"That'd be Patience," Mal states, "we're close enough for vid. Put her up." Mal switches seats with Wash and we all stand close to see what's going on. I see Mal press buttons and a video comes on.

"Malcolm Reynolds," and old woman's voice asks. That would be Patience.

"Hello, Patience," Mal says.

"I have to say," Patience says, "I didn't look to be hearin' from you anytime soon."

"Well," Mal says, "we may not have parted on the best of terms." I scoff and roll my eyes. "I realize certain words were exchanged, also certain... bullets. But that's air through the engine. It's past. We're business people. Besides, your days of fighting over salvage rights are behind you, what I hear." I shake my head and I meet eyes with Jayne. I quickly look away and I am right back to staring at Mal and the video of Patience. "What're you, mayor now?"

"Just about," Patience states, "you tellin' the truth about that cargo? 'Cause your askin' price is a bit too reasonable for that much treasure."

"It's imprinted- Alliance," Mal says, "hence the discount."

"Oh, government goods, huh," Patience asks.

"That doesn't work for you, no harm," Mal says. I can tell he's playing her. She'll take it, "just thought you could use-" Patience cuts him off.

"Alliance don't scare me," Patience defends, "just collating data, as they say. I like that you're up-front about it. We can deal. I'll upload coordinates for a rendezvous point outside of town."

"See you on the World." Mal ends transmission. I can tell that this is going to be a trap. "I believe that woman's plannin' to shoot me an' you again, Rae."

"She meant to pay you, she'd have haggled ya down some," Jayne says.

"Just a little effort to hide it would've been-" Wash is cut off by Mal knocking down a metal plate in frustration.

"Sir," Zoe says, "we don't have to deal with her."

"Yes, we do," Mal growls.

"here's a little concept I've been workin' on," Jayne says. I turn to look at him but he refuses to meet my eyes, "Why don't we shoot her first?"

"It is her turn," Wash smirks.

"That doesn't get us what we need, either," Mal contemplates.

"There's moons on this belt we ain't seen," I try my hardest to convince Mal. I don't want to get shot again and I don't want Mal to get shot, either, "we could try our luck-" Mal cuts me off.

"Our luck," Mal asks incredulously, "you notice anythin' particular 'bout our luck these past few days? Any kinda pattern? You depend on luck, you end up on the drift- no fuel, no prospects... beggin' for Alliance make-work, getting towed out to the scrap belt. That ain't us. Not ever. Patience has got the money to pay, and she will, one way or another. There's obstacles in our path, and we're gonna deal with 'em one by one. We'll get through this. We will."

I stalk off to my bunk and I lay down. I feel the need to rest. I shut my eyes slightly before I hear a knocking at my door. I walk over and open it. Mal is standing there staring at me. I smile at him.

"I'll tell ya when we hit Whitefall," Mal says.

"Thanks," I smile. He's finally letting me sleep. Mal closes the door and I lay back down on my bed, my eyes fluttering to sleep. I don't have any dream that I can remember but I do have one reoccurring thought through all of my dreams, though. Jayne. I let my mind wander but my only thoughts are on Jayne. I sigh and get up. I might have only been out for an hour, but I don't care, I need to get my mind off of that man. I climb out and I find myself facing Mal. He nods and I understand completely. We're almost landed on Whitefall. I go back down and line my legs with knives. My hips are lined with guns and I have a few extra daggers strapped to my waist. I go to the Cargo Bay to find everyone ready.

I walk out and Mal gestures for me to sit on the back of the mover that Jayne is driving. I understand. I am going with Jayne to help bury the cargo. Jayne and I bury the bricks without saying a word to each other. We go back and walk up in between Zoe and Mal.

"Here ya are," Jayne says, handing Mal a brick, "we buried 'em good. Equipment's back on the boat." I put the microphone/ radio in my ear and I see Jayne do the same. "Testing." I hear Jayne say. I look over at him and I roll my eyes. "Testing, captain, can you hear me?"

"I'm standin' right here," Mal says. I snicker.

"You're comin' through good and loud," Jayne says.

"'Cause I'm standin' right here," Mal says. I laugh and then bite the inside of my cheek.

"Yeah, well," Jayne stammer, "but the transmitter's..." Zoe and I exchange a look and then we laugh. Mal starts walking off.

"Alright, Patience is gonna figure we buried the cargo," Mal says, "which means putting us to our ease before there's any action. She'll come at us from the East, talk the location out of us. She'll have the coin to show us first. We get it, give the location. Sniper hit us from there and there." I stare at the spots where he's pointing at. I'm probably going to be the one to take out the snipers and then Jayne and I will take over the positions.

"You figure they're in place yet," Jayne asks.

"Should be," Mal says. I get excited just thinking about it, "feel like takin' a walk 'round the park?"

"Sure you don't just want to piss yourself and back down," Jayne asks. I am starting to get angry with him again, "like you did with Badger?"

"Walk soft," Mal says and looks at me, "just as a precautionary measure, have Rae go first to take 'em out. Jayne you follow her. After she takes the first one, that's your position Jayne. Rae, after you take the second one, that's your position. I want Patience thinking they're still in place. Don't kill anyone if you don't have to. We're here to make a deal." Jayne and I run off. At first, we are at the same pace until we hit the woods. After we hit the woods, I am taking the lead. He seems so loud behind me. He just can't seem to keep quiet. We get close to the first spot where Mal pointed and I turn around.

"Spot moving," I whisper, "don't move, don't walk, don't even breath. When I take the guy out, I'll come and find you. I promise I'll be quick." He nods his head and stands perfectly still. I move forward, silent as a mouse. I can see the first sniper. He's a large man but with one good blow to the back of the neck, he'll be out cold. I grab my largest pistol and I walk forward silently. I am straight behind him. Now I am almost right on top of him. I can see the muscles in his neck flex. He's about to turn his head. I slam the butt of the pistol down onto his neck and he's out cold.

I don't bother dragging him, Jayne will do that. I walk back to where Jayne was left. I don't care about my loudness anymore. I find Jayne standing there, just like I left him. Something gives me the urge to go up to him and kiss him but I fight it off.

"So, you knocked him out," Jayne asks, already knowing the answer.

"Ice cold," I smile. I can hear him groan. "What the hell is the groan for?"

"You have no idea how much that turns me on," Jayne chuckles.

"Alright," I laugh, "me knocking out men turns you on?"

"Completely," I can hear Jayne following me.

"Well, you just contemplate that," I break into a run, "I've got another sniper to get." Before long I've left him far behind me. I keep on running until I find the other spot where Mal was pointing to. It's not long before I find the sniper. I do the same exact action to him as I did to the first one. I drag the sniper off to the side and I lay down, getting myself comfortable. I call over the transmitter.

"I'm in place, captain," I say. Soon after I hear Mal reply, "Alright, good job. When I give you the signal..."

"I got it." I lay there in place until I see Patience come by. I can only hear Mal's end of the conversation.

"Walkin' an' talkin'." I can hear Mal say. There is a pause before the next transmission. "Oh, no. Rae couldn't come along. She's takin' to bein' injured. Did a flip off the ship when she should've jumped. You know how it is." I snarl and laugh at the same time. I hear the next transmission. "We're just on the job, Patience, not interested in surprises." I have my target right on Mal, just to see what's going on. I push my sight from Mal to Patience to see if I can make out any problems. There are lots of men, but all of us can figure that out. I hear another transmission. "And you're not gonna 'till I'm holdin' two-hundred in platinum." There's a pause before the next transmission. "It's pure Patience." I see Mal toss a brick to one of the taller men with a ridiculous hat on. "Genuine A-grade food stuffs- protein, vitamins, immunization supplements. One of those would feed a family for a month- longer, if they don't like their kids too well." I scoff and roll my eyes. I can see through my sight that Patience just passed the coins to Mal. The next transmission at first I zone out until I hear again. "and east half a mile, bottom of the first hill, you'll see where it's been dug." There is a pause. "Well, then." There's an awkward silence where I can tell that nobody is talking then I hear Mal break the silence. "I'd appreciate it if you all turn 'round and ride out first." Mal sounds like he knows what's coming next, and I do too. "We both made out on this deal. Don't complicate things." I can tell everyone is listening intently when Mal throws the money back. "Got the money back. There's no need for killin'." I can hear Zoe's voice partially but I can't make out what she says. "Guess that's up to Patience, here. Could be messy." There's a pause before I hear it, the signal. "That's quite a rifle. Boy must be your best shot to carry that." I single out the man with the largest gun. There's a pause. "Two-fry. Nice hat."

I fire a shot and Jayne fires a shot. We both hit the man with the largest hat right dead center on the head. I see Mal and Zoe pull out their guns and start shooting. I join in, singling out the one's with the gun's up. Jayne seems to join in, too. I see Zoe fall through my sight but I can't do anything. Zoe can't be dead. She's been shot before. My shooting stops as I watch Zoe. I shake my head and I get back to shooting. I am just shooting whatever moves that's on a horse. Zoe gets up and I sigh. The fights over. Mal got the money from Patience.

I go running down the hill as I see Jayne blitzing to Mal and Zoe. I sprint as fast as I can to catch up with them. I can hear Jayne shout something but I can't tell exactly what he says. As soon as I run up to Mal, I can see that somethings wrong. I catch my breath as he tells me something no one ever wants to hear.

"The Reavers followed us here," Mal says. We run to the good horses and get on them. We ride them as fast as we can. I gasp and I glance at Jayne. He looks scared out of his mind. That scares me even more because Jayne isn't the one who's supposed to be scared. We ride and I can see the ship. Somethings going on on that ship. I can hear a gunshot. Mal and I dismount our horses and walk into the Cargo Bay.

"I'm not playing anymore," I hear Dobson say. He has a gun to River's head. "Anybody makes so much-" Mal and I cut him off by shooting him in the head. We aren't going to deal with this anymore. Mal calls for Jayne and they pick up Dobson's body, throwing him off the ship. Jayne, Mal, Zoe, and I all run up to the Bridge.

"How close are they," Mal asks.

"'Bout twenty seconds from splitting distance," Wash says, concentrating.

"Well, lose 'em," Jayne shouts.

"Give me the vid," Mal says to Zoe. Zoe says something in Chinese but I don't pay attention. I am too scared. Mal turns to Wash again. "How close they need to be to fire those grappler's?"

"C'mon Wash," Jayne shouts, "ya dumbass, dodge 'em."

"If everyone could just be quiet a moment," Wash commands, "I need Kaylee in the Engine Room, please."

"Can she even-" I am cut off by Mal.

"Get her in there now," Mal shouts. Jayne goes running. Mal walks off and I hear him talking to Inara.

Mal comes back in, "how are we doin'?"

"I don't mean to alarm anybody..." Wash says. "But I think... we're being followed."

"Can't keep this up," Mal says, "they got a bead, they're gonna lock us down."

"Kaylee," Wash asks over the intercom, "How we doing? Gonna need a little push here."

"You want me to go for full burn," Kaylee asks over the intercom. She sounds so tired.

"Not just yet," Wash says, "but set it up."

"We're ready for full burn on your mark," I hear Kaylee say over the intercom.

"Full burn in atmo," Zoe asks in shock.

"That won't cause a blow back, burn us out," I ask.

"Even if it doesn't, they can push just as hard," Mal states, "keep right on us. Wash, you gotta give me and Ivan."

"I'll see what I can do," Wash says, "Kaylee, how would you feel about pulling a crazy Ivan?"

"Always wanted to try one," Kaylee exasperatedly says.

"They're on us," Zoe shouts.

"Kaylee," Wash yells. She doesn't answer.

"Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on," Mal repeats. I am too scared to say anything.

"Okay," Kaylee says.

"Everybody hold onto something," Wash says. I grab onto the large metal built in cupboards that are directly behind where Wash sits. "Here's something you can't do." Wash pulls a lever and I can feel the whole ship turn. "Now!" I hold on as tight as I can. I am breathing heavily as I watch us fly out of the atmosphere.

"Knew I hired you for somethin'," Mal chuckles. I laugh hysterically. We made it. I start to laugh when I here Jayne shouting and celebrating in the Engine Room.

"Ain't no way they can come 'round in time to follow us now," Zoe says, laughing slightly.

Mal speaks over the whole intercom, "we're good, people. We're out of the woods."

"We should have just enough left in us to hit a fuel station," Wash says, "we'll need to do some patching up. I hope we got paid today."

"We did," Mal smiles.

"Sir," Zoe says, "I'd like you to take the Helm, please. I need this man to tear all my clothes off." Zoe grabs Wash's shirt and pulls him to their room.

"Work, work, work," I hear Wash say. I laugh and pat Mal on the back. He smiles back at me and then sits down. I sigh and walk off to my bunk. I open the door, climb down, close it behind me, and I pass out on my bed.

Just one more great day.


	8. Balls and Beards

**Time: Right after first episode "Serenity"- right before second episode "The Train Job"**

**Translations: Shun-sheng due gao-wahn- Holy Testicle Tuesday**

**Also, the title of this chapter is a bit weird... it will make sense after you read. Do not take it the wrong way, though.  
**

* * *

I sleep in for a while the next day. I am awakened by a banging on my door and then Mal coming in. He has a big smile on his face even though he is only partially dressed. He has pants on but no shirt. I laugh and sit up on my bed. I crisscross my legs right before he picks me up and spins me around.

"What the hell, Mal," I almost scream. He has never done this to me before.

"Kaylee's out of the infirmary," Mal laughs, setting me down and giving me a giant bear hug, "she's up and around now!" I don't say anything else. I push Mal out of the way and I climb up my stairs as quickly as I can. I sprint down to the infirmary through the kitchen route. I run through the Engine Room and as fast as I can down the stairs. As soon as I get to the infirmary area, I can see Kaylee sitting on the couch outside of it relaxing. I small squeak of delight escapes my mouth and I run over to her. I give her a gentle but long hug and then I sit down next to her.

"How're ya feelin', meimei," I ask.

"Alright," Kaylee smiles at me, "my tummies still a bit woozy but I'm feelin' a lot better than before. Just shiny, Rae."

"Good," I laugh and I hug her again, "you don't know how happy I am to see you out of that infirmary."

"Yeah, I'm glad, too," Kaylee says. I let go of her and we laugh almost simultaneously. Kaylee looks me up and down and then giggles, "um, Rae, you're still in you're pajamies."

"Gorram it," I do a face palm and then I laugh, "I guess I was just too excited 'bout you gettin' out of the infirmary that I forgot to change."

"Ya better do that before more people see ya like this," Kaylee laughs. I get up to walk away.

"Yeah, I probably should," I smile at her and I slowly jog back up the stairs, taking the indirect route, avoiding any contact with anyone. I am wearing short shorts, if you can even call them shorts. They are short enough to just be underwear. I am also wearing a tank top that partially rides up on my stomach, exposing my belly-button. It also exposes my tattoos right underneath my belly-button and the other one on my right arm. The tattoo under my belly-button is triangular shaped curved lines. The tattoo on my right arm is a picture of a stag.

I jog until I run into someone, literally. I trip backwards before being caught by someone putting their hand behind my back. I look at my saviors face to find none other then Jayne staring down at me. He puts me back on my feet and then looks to my clothing, where I see his eyebrows raise and his eyes widen. I snarl and then cross my arms over my chest.

"My face is up here, Jayne," I growl.

"But the rest of you is down there," Jayne says.

I roll my eyes and scoff, "if you want to talk to me, you're gonna have to look at my face."

I hear him mutter something and then he looks up to my face, "ya know what, ya look pretty gorram good with these clothes on. I hope you plan on wearing them all day. Damn sexy tattoo's, too. I won't mind a bit."

"Dumb ass," I mutter under my breath. I get louder so that he can hear me, "no Jayne. I'm not wearing them all day. These are what I wear to sleep." As soon as I say it, I regret it.

"Well then..." Jayne says mischievously. I step forward and put a finger on his chest. He looks down at my finger, giving him full view of my cleavage. I don't care, though.

"Don't even think about it," I snarl, "don't say it, don't speak it, and stop looking at my boobs." I say the last part with a whisper because I don't want anyone else to hear it.

"How can I," Jayne asks, trying to sound innocent, "you're face is down, your finger is on my chest, which I'm pretty sure is below my face, and, sadly, your 'boobs' are not at face level." I am infuriated at this point. I bring my knee up and hit his crotch, hard. He crumples to the ground as I walk away. I hear him squeal and then give an enraged shout.

I turn the corner to see the hallway with all of the bunks and I walk calmly towards the opening to my bunk. I see Mal run out of the Bridge and stare at me with disbelief. He runs down the hallway I just walked out of and I hear a bark of laughter echo from his mouth followed by a series of swearing coming from Jayne's mouth. I can hear my name in the conversation multiple times before I decide to go into my bunk. I turn around to open the door when Mal's voice stops me.

"Raelyn Melody Reynolds," Mal says, "you turn around this instant." I turn around slowly to come face to face with Mal. I look up at him and our eyes meet. I stay emotionless until I hear laughter splutter from his mouth. I loose it soon afterwards. We are both laughing when Jayne walks by limping and swearing. He is holding his crotch as he climbs down into his bunk.

"That's my little sis!" Mal is laughing so hard that tears are coming out of his eyes. He taps my shoulder lovingly as our laughter slowly dies down. Mal looks at what I'm wearing and then chuckles, shaking his head. "Go get dressed before we have any more mishaps like that..." Mal pauses in thought, "actually, I wouldn't mind if you tried that on the young doc as well." I laugh and then I roll my eyes.

"I'm gonna go get dressed," I smile at him and he flashes me one of his prizewinning smiles before I disappear down into my bunk. I pull on a long-sleeved black shirt and boot-cut jeans. I tie my hair back into a pony-tail and I turn to my mirror. I look nice but I am stressed out. I didn't mean to actually hurt Jayne. My anger got the best of me.

I take a deep breath in and then I let it out. I copy those series of relaxation techniques a couple more times before turning around to walk out of my bunk. I climb out of my bunk and close it behind me. I turn around and walk into the kitchen to grab myself some cereal. I eat slowly, just waiting for something big to interrupt my relaxation. Something always happens. Why is nothing happening?

I finish my cereal before walking over to the Bridge. Wash and Zoe are up there kissing. I tilted my head to the side and smiled. They were by far the most loving people on the ship, to anyone. The only person who could be more loving then them would be Kaylee. There is a difference in that love, though. Zoe and Wash are like my parents while Kaylee is more like my little sister.

I end my smile sadly and I turn around to walk down to the Cargo Bay. My eyes close slightly in thought and when I opened my eyes, I came to a sight that made me scream in shock. Jayne had just climbed out of his bunk with his goatee completely shaved off. I fall backwards and smack my head on the hard metal wall. I am in between laughing and crying as he looks at me in a funny way.

"What's the gorram matter with ya, Rae," Jayne asks. He doesn't move. Probably still cautious about being too close to me. I hear people come running to my scream. Wash and Zoe are the first there. Zoe looks from me to Jayne and then laughs, shaking her head. Wash makes an comprehensible chuckle/shout. Mal, Inara, and Preacher come next. Preacher looks around and then walks away, his back shaking with laughter. Inara is trying to keep herself together as she walks over to me, helping me up.

"Shun-sheng due gao-wahn!" Mal shouts, "what did ya do to your face, Jayne." Nobody was exactly sure what to say.

"I thought it'd be a-fixin' time for some change," Jayne states, "considerin' Rae is just 'bout fixin' ta kill me every time I turn 'round. Maybe a change in face will stop 'er. What? Do ya not like it?" The question is directed at me even though he tries to make it seem like he's asking everyone.

"Jayne..." I pause, "j-just grow it back." I rub the bridge of my nose with my forefingers. "I'm not fixin' ta kill ya in the first place. Second, I ain't gonna stop just because ya shaved your beard. Just grow it back." I am chuckling by the time I finish. Everyone else slowly spreads off back to the normal corners of their ship leaving Jayne and I by ourselves. An awkward silence is broken by a growl uttered from Jayne's mouth.

"So I shaved fer nothin'?" Jayne asks.

"Seems so," I laugh.

"Damn." Jayne walks off, sulking. I laugh and go on as normal business.

* * *

The next two days are normal, Jayne's beard growing back and the occasional appearance of River are the only things truly out of the ordinary. I have spent most of these few days in my bunk, only coming out to eat or when I'm needed. The peacefulness is interrupted on the third day by a statement that Mal gives me and the rest of the crew.

"So," Mal starts off. "We've just got hailed an' we might just be havin' a job. So, there's a bar on Regina that we're fixin' t' go to an' we just gotta lay low. No trouble." I scoff and roll my eyes. "That'll be all." I walk off back down to my bunk where I look at the calender. Unification Day is today. Great, the one day that Mal despises more then anything else and we're going somewhere, 'not causing trouble.' This is going to be loads of fun.


End file.
